Mitten



J. M. JOHANSON MITTEN Filed Nov.

June 29, 1943.

//v VEN TOR.

Patented June 29, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MITTEN Johanna. M.Johanson, Concord, Mass Application November 22, 1941, Serial No.420,071

3 Claims.

This invention relates to mittens, gloves, and the like. It aims todevise an article of this character which will be particularly useful tosoldiers, hunters, sailors, teamsters, and others. More specifically,the invention aims to devise an article of this character which willkeep the wearers hands warm while still permitting exceptionalindividual freedom of movement of the fingers when necessary in order tohandle things with more facility and precision than otherwise would bepossible.

It has been proposed heretofore to make a mitten with a transverse slotacross the fingers at the front or palm side thereof so that one or morefingers can be extended through said slot when desired for any reason.Such a construction is useful for soldiers and hunters since it affordsopportunity for the quick use of the bare trigger finger, but it alsohas the disadvantage of sacrificing much of the warmth which the mittenotherwise would afford. It has also been proposed to make a mitten withseparate enclosures for the fore finger and thumb, the mitten thusenclosing three fingers in a group and affording the advantages of aglove so far as the thumb and fore finger are concerned. Thisconstruction also is very useful, but it does not protect the forefinger from the cold nearly as much as does a mitten of the common formin which all four fingers are encased in a common enclosure.

It is an important object of this invention to devise a mitten whichwill give the wearer the individual freedom of movement of the thumb andfore finger afforded by a glove, while still possessing substantiallythe same degree of protection from cold which a mitten customarilyprovides and which, in addition, will give added freedom to certain ofthe fingers normally enclosed in the mitten.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from thefollowing description when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a mitten constructed in accordance withthis invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the utility of one feature of theinvention;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation showing one way in which the mitten may beused;

Fig. 4 is an edge view, partly in section, illustrating certain detailsof construction of the mitten; and

Fig. 5 is a rear view of the mitten.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it will be observed that the mittenthere shown comprises a body portion of a common form but equipped withindependent enclosures 2 and 3 for the thumb and fore finger,respctively. In some cases it may be found advisable to provide anadditional independent enclosure for one of the other fingers, butusually this is not necessary for reasons that will appear hereinafter.A hood section 4, preferably joined to the outer edge of the mittensubstantially along the entire outline or edge of that portion of themitten enclosing the fingers, can be folded over the front or palm sideof the mitten, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or it can be folded backwardlywhere it covers the corresponding rearward portion of the mitten at thebacks of the fingers, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The line on which thisfolding action takes place is the line of union of the hood to the mainbody of the mitten, and this line, as above indicated, extends up alongthe outer edge of the little finger, across the tips of the fingers anddown along the edge of the part of the mitten normally occupied by themiddle finger. For convenience this line of junction or fold willsometimes be referred to hereinafter as the finger line. When the hoodsection of the mitten is in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 itdoubles the thickness of material protecting the fingers at the palm orfront surfaces thereof, and thus provides greater protection for thisportion of the hand than does a mitten of the ordinary construction.However, the fore finger 3 of the glove can readily be released from thepocket in which it is enclosed at this time simply by lifting the loweredge of the hood with the thumb and bending the fore finger forwardlyuntil it passes below the edge of the hood. Also, it can be returned tothis position almost instantly by a reversal of these operations. Thusthe wearers fingers are insulated from a gun, handle, or implement heldin the hand, more effectively than with the ordinary mitten, while thefore finger can be freed instantly from this protection, if desired forany reason.

Preferably the extreme outer end of the mitten is left open, asindicated at 1, for a distance long enough to permit the passagetherethrough of the ends of the middle and ring fingers, as shown inFig. 3. Normally this opening is closed by the hood, but when the hood 4is folded backwardly, then the wearer can use either or both of thesebare fingers with the covered fore finger and thumb in picking up .orhandling articles of any kind, the manipulation of which would bediflicult without the use of these additional fingers. In the event thatthis opening is not desired, the corresponding portion of the mitten maybe closed in the usual manner. The hood 4, however, is still useful,both for the reason above described and also in adding to the protectionof the backs of the fingers at times when such additional protection isdesired for this part of the hand.

At the front or palm side of the wrist of the mitten a transverse slot 5is formed, as shown in Fig. 2, for the passage therethrough of the barehand when it is desired to use the latter unencumbered by the mitten. Atthe same time the body portion of the mitten can be pushed up the sleeveor allowed to hang but, in any event, it is still fastened to the wearerby its wrist portion. A flap 6 joined to the mitten at the forward edgeof the slot closes the latter'when the mitten is worn in the usualmanner. Preferably the mitten is made by knitting in the usual fashion,the entire wrist section of the mitten and the body portion thereof upto the neighborhood of the thumb being ribbed so as to give this sectionincreased stretch and elasticity. For the same reason the extreme tip ofthe mitten adjacent to the aperture 1, Fig. 4, may be ribbed, as well asthe margin of the hood 4. The ribbing on the latter section is bestillustrated in Fig. 5, and it is of value in contracting the. lower edgeof the pocket formed between the flap or hood 4 and the main body of themitten.

While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of myinvention, ,it will be evident that the invention is not limited toembodiment in the precise form shown.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new is:

1. A mitten having individual enclosures for one or more of the fingers,a body portion to which said enclosures are integrally united, and ahood section integrally joined at its edge to said body portion alongthe finger line thereof and cooperating therewith to provide a pocketextending backwardly toward the Wrist from the outer extremity of themitten to approximately the base of the fingers, the fore finger of themitten having suflicient freedom to be removable from said pocket orinsertable therein while the mitten remains on the hand.

2. A mitten including a body portion having a ,slot at the palm sidethereof for the passage therethrough of one or more fingers and a hoodsection joined to the outer end margin of said body portion alongsubstantially the finger line and adapted to be folded over the parts ofthe mitten enclosing the fingers at either the palm side or the rearwardside of the mitten, said hood covering said slot when it is folded overupon "thepalm'side of the body portion of the mitten.

3. A mitten having a body portion and individual enclosures for thethumb and fore finger integral with said body portion, and a hoodsection integral with said body portion, joined thereto at the fingerline of saidbody portion, and extendingbackwardly to approximately thebase of the fingers, said hood section beingadapted to be folded backalong said finger line into a position at the rearward side of themitten, and the end of said body portion at the palm side thereof beingopen to expose the tips of certain of said fingers when said hood is sofolded backwardly, the hood, however, covering said-opening andprotecting the latter fingerswhen in its normal position at the palmsideof the mitten.

JOHANNA M. JOHANSON.

